Headland takes Chinese Investment to the UK. Read about the £16 million project in The South China Morning Post

It was once the headquarters of the Cadbury confectionery company in England, the place where the famous Milk Tray brand of chocolates, among others, was said to have been invented.

Now a consortium of Hong Kong and Macau investors is investing £16m (HK$199 million) to turn into an apartment complex.

Hong Kong-based Headland Developments and Birmingham-based Court Collaboration have formed a joint venture representing the investors to convert the 74,000 sq ft Franklin House in Birmingham into 96 one- and two-bedroom flats.


Headland takes Chinese Investment to the UK. Read about the £16 million redevelopment project in The Birmingham Post.

The former head office of Cadbury is set to be transformed into apartments in the second Chinese-backed property development Birmingham has seen.

Franklin House in Bournville – reputedly where the Curly Wurly was invented – will be transformed into an apartment block with up to 96 homes, a garden terrace and a coffee house in a £16 million redevelopment.

It becomes the second scheme funded solely by Chinese cash and will be delivered through a joint venture between city developer Court Collaboration and Hong Kong-based Headland Developments.


Another surge in UK house prices is just around the corner, just not in London. Read the article in The Telegraph.

UK house prices outside London are expected to surge in the second half of the year, as a leading estate agent revises its five-year forecast.

International property company Savills expects average annual UK house price to grow by 9.5pc this year, ahead of the 6.5pc originally forecast.

 

Headland wins the iProperty Best Residential Low-rise Development award for 2014 for The Fountainside in Macau.

The Fountainside development respects the historical significance that the project’s location embodies, in line with the Macau Government’s strong emphasis on preserving Macau’s culture and heritage, while also showcasing Headland Developments’ expertise in sustainable and environmental design.

The original building’s Portuguese colonial facade has been beautifully preserved and integrated into the new development, for which The Fountainside received the 2012 Monomer Housing Design Award of Chinese Residential Projects, awarded by the distinguished World Association of Chinese Architects, and more recently the iProperty Best Developments Best Residential Low-rise Award 2014.

“The Fountainside development respects the historical significance that the project’s location embodies, in line with the Macau government’s strong emphasis on preserving Macau’s culture and heritage, while also showcasing headland Development’s expertise in sustainable and environmental design.”

Demand for Birmingham homes outstrips supply by six-fold, soaring 66% in a year. Read the article in The Birmingham Post.

Demand for homes in Birmingham has soared by two-thirds in a year – six times greater than the growth in supply.

The city has seen buyer registrations rise by 66 per cent since April 2013, despite the number of homes on the market only growing by 11 per cent in the West Midlands.

Meanwhile, the city is outstripping the region in rising house prices, with an 11 per cent annual rise, compared to eight per cent across the West Midlands, according to Shipways’ West Midlands Housing Market Index.

Birmingham dubbed UK’s best place to invest, leapfrogging London in the ratings. Read the article in The Birmingham Post.

Birmingham has been recognised as the best place in the UK for businesses to invest, according to economic development experts.

Specialist locations title Site Selection named the city the second-best place in Western Europe to invest, behind only Barcelona, after it leapfrogged London in the rankings.